Tool for forming detents in connected convolutions of slats



June 5, 1956 F. J. ZARNOWSKI TOOL FOR FORMING DETENTS IN CONNECTEDCONVOLUTIONS OF SLATS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 29, 1954 m mw o WW 4MK I w A H H T TOPA/EV United States Patent FORMING DETENTS IN CONNECTEDCONVOLUTIONS OF SLATS Frank J. Zarnowski, Rutherford, N. 1., assignor toOrchard Brothers Incorporated, a corporation of New Jersey ApplicationApril 29, 1954, Serial No. 426,374

6 Claims. (Cl. 164-421) TOOL FOR the foregoing described character whichmay be readily applied to the slats'for operation upon convolutionswithout modifying the slats for receiving the tool.

A further object of my invention is to provide a tool of the foregoingdescribed character which functions in a manner to preclude marring ordistortion of the slats other than providing the slats withanti-shifting means.

An important object of my invention is to provide a tool of theforegoing described character which is simple in construction, durablein use, efiicient in operation, economical in manufacture and capable ofutilization and operation by other than highly skilled labor.

With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear,the invention consists in the combination and arrangement of partshereinafter set forth and illus- .trated in the. accompanying drawingsfrom which the several features of the invention and the advantagesattained thereby will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

Referring to the drawings wherein like reference characters designatelike parts throughout the several views:

Figure l is a perspective view of a portion of an awning having myinvention applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the tool.

Figure 3 is a detail longitudinal sectional view, on an enlarged scale,illustrating the convolutions of a pair of slats in position to beoperated on by the tool.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but illustrating the convolutionsformed with anti-shifting means as the result of the operation of thetool.

Figures 5 and 6 are detail sectional views taken on the lines 5-5 and6-6 of Figure 4, respectively.

In practicing my invention, as illustrated in the drawings, I provide atool of the plier type equipped with relatively movable handles 5 and 6pivoted together by a pivot 7. The coincident ends of the handles 5 and6 are connected to relatively movable jaw members 8 and 9 with themember 9 being formed with inner and outer, substantially parallel,spaced sections or Walls 10 and 11, respectively, and definingtherebetvveen a slot or channel. In order that the members 8 and 9 maybe maintained in parallelism when operated to opened and closedpositions by the handles, the intermediate portions of the members 8 and9 are pivoted Within the front ends of the handles by pivots 12 whiletheir rear portions are pivotly and slidably connected Within thehandles by pins 13 fixed to the handles and extending through slots 14in the rear ends of the members. The pivot 12 and the pin 13 for eachmember are equally distant from the pivot 7, whereby, parallelism of themembers is maintained during relative movement of the members by thehandles. Coil springs 15 are disposed within the handles and have theirfront ends attached to the rear ends of the members 8 and 9 and theirrear ends to the handles. When the jaw members are operated to closedposition by gripping the handles and exerting pressure thereon, thesprings 15 are extended and, when pressure upon the handles is relaxed,they contract and effect operation of the jaw members to open positionas illustrated in Figures l and 2 of the drawings.

A cutting element or punch 16 has its operating end 17 operable into andout of a slot 18 formed in the section 10 of the jaw member 9. The otherend of the punch 16 is threaded through the member 8 and is equippedwith a lock-nut 19 engaging said member 8. By manipulating the nut 19,the punch 16 may be adjusted relative to the member 9. The operating endportion of the punch 16 is substantially rectangular in transversalitywhile its operating end 17 is substantially cuneiform in side elevation,as clearly shown in Figures 3 and 4, to effect cutting and punching ashereinafter disclosed. The leading and trailing edges of the operatingend 17 of the punch 16 are designated by the numerals 17a and 17b,respectively, in Fig. 3.

In order to provide an eifective seat or retaining means for theconnecting convolutions or hinges C of a pair of slats S of an awning A,for example, as disclosed in my copending application filed herewith,Serial No. 426,373, and enable proper functioning or operation of thetool in connection therewith, the confronting faces of the sections 10and 11 are concave as at 20 to conform generally to the contour orcurvature of the convolutions C inserted therebetween. When the members8 and 9 are in open position, as illustrated in Figure 3, the operatingend 17 of the punch 16 is maintained within the confines of the slot 13.However, when the members 8 and 9 are operated to closed position by thehandles, the end 17 of the punch 16 is moved out of the slot 18 and cutsor punches the adjacent portions of the convolutions. As shown in Fig.4, the punch 16 deforms the convolutions to form inwardly disposeddetents D constituting antishifting means for the slats, as alsodisclosed in said copending application.

The degree of penetration of the punch 16 into the convolutions islimited by means of a stop 21 adjustably mounted on the member 8 andwhich stop engages the section 10 when the members 8 and 9 are operatedto closed position to limit the movement of the punch 16. Support meansfor the portions of the convolutions adjacent the section 10 is providedand which comprises a pin 22 disposed between the sections 10 and 11.The pin 22 has an end portion extending through an opening formed in theend wall 24 connecting the sections 10 and 11 of the member 9 together.The pin is adjustably secured in the opening by means of a set-screwthreaded in the wall 24. The opposite end portion of the pin 22 isconical and terminates in close proximity to but out of the path of thepunch 16 when operated out of the slot 18 as clearly illustrated inFigure 4-. When the tool is applied about the connecting convolutions Cof a pair of the slats S, the pin 22 is disposed centrally within theconfines of the convolutions to support the portions thereof adjacentthe section and the conical end portion faces the path of the punch soas to cooperate with the leading edge of the end 17. As the latterengages the portions of the convolutions, distortion of the supportedportions is precluded. The conical end of the pin serves to permit aslight inward deflection of the adjacent portions of the convolutionsduring severance to constitute additional detents D as clearlyillustrated in Figure 4.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I have provided anextremely simple and inexpensive form of tool for operating upon thehinges or convolutions connecting awning slats together to provide theslats with means to prevent relative lengthwise shifting thereof.Furthermore, while I have disclosed my invention as being manuallyoperated, it is to be understood that appropriate means may be employedfor effecting power operation thereof. Also, it is comprehensible thatthe invention may be employed in connection with similar constructionsother than the slats of awnings, for instance, panel assemblies forwalls or the like wherein it is desirable to secure paneling againstrelative shifting.

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully explain theinvention that others may, by applying current knowledge, readily adaptthe same for use under various conditions of service. Moreover, it isnot indispensable that all the features of the invention be usedconjointly since they may be employed advantageously in variouscombinations and subcombinations.

It is obvious that the invention is not confined solely to the useherein disclosed in connection therewith as it may be utilized for anypurpose to which it is adaptable. It is therefore to be understood thatthe invention is not limited to the specific construction as illustratedand described, as the same is only illustrative of the principlesinvolved which are capable of extended application in various forms, andthe invention comprehends all construction within the scope of theappended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a tool construction, a member provided with spaced sectionsdefining a channel therebetween for accommodating therein spaced pairsof connected portions of a pair of panels or the like and a slot openinginto said channel through one of said section, a punch operable over apath extending through said slot and into said channel and havingleading and trailing edges defining a work-face for penetrating anddeforming one pair of said portions adjacent said slot to form detentstherein to lock said panels together against relative shifting in onedirection, a pin connected to said member and extending into saidchannel between and in spaced relation from said sections for supportingsaid one pair of said portions adjacent said slot, said pin terminatingin proximity to but out of said path and coacting with said workface toform detents in said one pair of said portions be yond said pin, saidpin having a conical end section coacting with said leading edge to formdetents in said one pair of said portions spaced from and opposite tosaid last mentioned detents, and stop means associated with said memberand said punch for limiting the penetration of said punch to said onepair of said portions.

2. In a tool construction, a pair of relatively movable members with oneof said members being provided with a pair of spaced sections foraccommodating therebetween oppositely disposcd spaced pairs of portionsof connected convolutions of a pair of slats, one of said sections beingformed with a slot, a punch connected to the other of said members andoperable through said slot for penetrating the pair of said portionsadiacent said slot to form detents in said last mentioned portions, andsupporting means spaced from said sections in the zone between saidsections and extending generally parallel to the adjacent faces of saidsections so as to be disposed within the confines of said convolutions,said supporting means being disposed out of the path of said punch butwith an end thereof close to said path for supporting said lastmentioned portions and coacting with said punch to effect forming ofsaid detents in said last mentioned portions.

3. In a tool construction, a pair of relatively movable members with oneof said members being provided with a pair of spaced sections havingconfronting concave faces for accommodating therein the arcuate outerfaces of oppositely disposed spaced pairs of portions of connectedconvolutions of a pair of slats, one of said sections being formed witha slot, a punch connected to the other of said members and operablethrough said slot for penetrating the pair of portions adjacent saidslot to form detents in the last mentioned portions, supporting meansspaced from said sections in the zone between said sections andextending generally parallel to the adjacent faces of said sections soas to be disposed between said pairs of portions of said convolutions,said supporting means being disposed out of the path of said punch butwith an end thereof close to said path for supporting the pair ofportions adjacent said slot and coacting with said punch to effectforming of said detents in the last-mentioned portions, and a stopcarried by one member for engaging the other member to limit thepenetration of said punch to said last-mentioned portions.

4. In a tool construction, a member provided with a channel foraccommodating therein spaced pairs of connected portions of a pair ofpanels or the like, said channel having a pair of substantially parallelwalls and an end wall extending therebetween, said member having a slotopening into said channel through one of said parallel walls, a punchoperable through said slot into said channel for penetrating anddeforming a pair of said portions adjacent said slot to form detentstherein to lock said panels together against relative shifting in onedirection, and supporting means spaced from said parallel walls in saidchannel and extending from said end wall so as to be disposed betweensaid pairs of portions, the end of said supporting means remote fromsaid end wall being disposed close to said slot but out of the path ofsaid punch.

5. In a tool construction, a member provided with a channel foraccommodating therein spaced pairs of connected portions of a pair ofpanels or the like, said channel having a pair of substantially parallelwalls and an end wall extending therebetween, said member having a slotopening into said channel through one of said parallel walls, a punchoperable through said slot into said channel for penetrating anddeforming a pair of said portions adjacent said slot to form detentstherein to lock said panels together against relative shifting in onedirection, and supporting means spaced from said parallel Walls in saidchannel and extending from said end wall so as to be disposed betweensaid pairs of portions, the end of said supporting means remote fromsaid end wall being conical and being disposed close to said slot butout of the path of said punch.

6. In a tool construction, a pair of relatively movable members with oneof said members being provided with a pair of spaced sections foraccommodating therebetween oppositely disposed spaced pairs of portionsof connected convolutions of a pair of slats, one of said sections beingformed with a slot, a punch connected to the other of said members andoperable through said slot for deforming the pair of said portionsadjacent said slot to form detents in said last mentioned portions, andsupporting means spaced from said sections in the zone between saidsections and extending generally parallel to the adjacent faces of saidsections so as to be disposed within the confines of said convolutions,said supporting means being disposed out of the path of said punch butwith a portion thereof close to and facing said path for supporting saidlast mentioned portions and coacting with said punch to effect formingof said detents in said last mentioned portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS596,770 Chillingworth Ian. 4, 1898 934,635 Thurgar Sept. 21, 1909989,058 l tumney Apr. 11, 1911 1,264,854 Possons Apr. 30, 1918 1,320,868Keller Nov. 4, 1919 1,962,543 Wilson June 12, 1934 1,987,176 BiggertJan. 8, 1935 2,653,664 Dolby Sept. 29, 1953 2,720,416 Raleigh Oct. 11,1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 7,601 Great Britain 1909

